National Day of the Cowboy 2023: Date, History, Facts, Events

National Day of the Cowboy, which takes place on the fourth Saturday of July — July 22 this year — is here to prove that cowboy culture is alive and well, despite the misconception that it has diminished over the years and been beaten down by the Information Age.

The background of National Day of the Cowboy

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the National Day of the Cowboy movement began when ranchers and cowhands began working livestock in the American West prior to the formation of all 50 states. Roping and riding, herding cattle on horseback, surviving by the lariat on your saddle horn, and camping beneath a vast, starry American sky — these activities were fundamental to the cowboy experience in the United States. The image of the ‘Marlboro Man’, a stoic, soft-spoken, self-reliant master of livestock animals and the wilderness, represented Americans to the rest of the world for a considerable amount of time.

National Day of the Cowboy (NDOC) sponsored a bill in the Wyoming House and Senate in 2005 to preserve and commemorate cowboy culture and history in that state, with a holiday to be observed on the fourth Saturday of July. The bill passed, and since then, other state legislatures have adopted NDOC. By the end of July 2019, fifteen states had enacted the legislation.

Since the beginning of NDOC’s political campaigning, they have promoted rodeos, cowboy history museums, and county fairs with roping demonstrations in order to ensure that the cowboy image will never fade out. Even if our only knowledge of the entire milieu comes from viewing “Gunsmoke” and “The Rifleman,” we’re on their side.

The organisation demonstrates no indications of slowing down. They operate according to a corporate hierarchy, with a chairman, treasurer, and secretary at the top and a group of dedicated volunteers at the bottom. Since its inception in 2005, the grassroots movement to pass NDOC in all 50 states has steadily garnered momentum.

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National Day of the Cowboy-Related Events

Visit a rodeo

Even the most educated and refined Americans must confess that bull-riding and steer-roping competitions are utterly captivating. This year, observe National Day of the Cowboy in person. Yee-hah!

Examine rancher culture

The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City and The Cowboy Museum in Oakdale, California are two excellently curated museums that preserve the history of the American West. Visit and have a look!

Participate electronically

Utilise the hashtag #NationalDayOfTheCowboy when posting on social media about cowboy-themed websites.

5 AMAZING FACTS ABOUT BULL RIDING:

Twenty cowboys contributed $1,000 each to establish the Professional Bull Riders Association, which gave bull riding its own rodeo discipline.

An eight-second ride on the back of a bull qualifies the rider, and there are three methods to stop the clock: the rider’s free hand touching the bull, his other hand coming out of the rope, or touching the ground.

During his professional rodeo career in the 1980s, a bull named Red Rock was never mounted for eight seconds, and he threw off more than 300 riders.

Professional bull riding strictly prohibits the use of spurs, leashes, or electric shocks of any kind before, during, or after a ride.

The origin of bull riding can be traced back to the ‘charreada’ contests of Old Mexico, where bulls were literally ridden to death.

NATIONAL DAY OF THE COWBOY DATES